A driver crashed into three parked cars on Otumoetai Rd. Photo / Supplied
A driver crashed into three parked cars on Otumoetai Rd. Photo / Supplied
A family now have to use taxis to get their terminally ill grandmother to treatments after a car ploughed into their property, writing off the family vehicle.
Hemi Tipene said the incident would "most definitely" have ended in death if anyone was outside, and his family now live in fearon the already dangerous road.
Tipene said his family have considered moving, but the housing crisis has them staying put.
Police were notified that a car had driven into three parked vehicles and a fence on Ōtūmoetai Rd around 7.15am on Sunday.
A 29-year-old man has been summonsed for careless driving.
On Sunday morning the family of six heard several loud, consecutive bangs, and looked out to see the "calamity" of a car through the fence, Tipene said.
A driver crashed into three parked cars on Otumoetai Rd. Photo / Supplied
He has lived in a rental at the bottom of Otumoetai Rd with his wife and four kids aged between 5 and 12 years for four years.
The family vehicle was written off and the fence was destroyed.
It was their only mode of transport as it was all they could afford and they needed help from others to get around while they saved for a new car.
Tipene said the incident left them "out of pocket" and they needed to save for a new vehicle.
As well as getting the family to school, work, shops and other commitments, they used the car to take Tipene's Nan to appointments.
She had terminal cancer and lived around the corner, relying on Tipene and his wife to take her to her treatments.
They've looked into services to get her appointments for chemotherapy and radiation.
The best they could do was pay for her taxi which involves "an increased expense, but we do what we need to do to look after our Nan".
The teenagers bussed to school and the family would either use delivery options or ask members of their wider family to pick up groceries.
Tipene said "thankfully" they were inside - their kids were not in the yard and they were not heading out at the time of the crash - otherwise it would have "most definitely" resulted in casualty.
A driver crashed into three parked cars before crashing into a fence on Otumoetai Rd. Photo / Supplied
He said the stretch of road was "no stranger" to accidents and several neighbours have had their cars crashed into.
The family considered moving after this crash but hadn't started looking for a new place due to the housing crisis and how much they and their kids loved the community.
He said they've seen several crashes on the road, but most were one vehicle hitting another.
He said it was a busy road where cars "fly at speed" and the family feared a driver would lose control.
The fence was a big part of why they moved into the property as it kept their kids safe and stopped them from wandering onto the road.
He said the increase in accidents made them feel "quite uncomfortable".
"Safety is becoming more and more of a concern".
Tauranga City Council was approached for comment and did not respond by publication deadline.
